East Enders

Mondays and Fridays are my stress-free days. They are the only days when I don't have to wake up and be somewhere at 9am. (it might not seem that bad but we've been sleeping into the late afternoons here in flat 14...) Anyway, so this past Friday I met up with my friend Barney and he took me around to East London. There was a complication with the our tube stop at Aldgate East, so we got out a stop early and saw Tower Hill and Tower Bridge up close. I know I've been there before when I was little, but to see it again with adult eyes was awesome.
We walked through the financial district, otherwise known as the City of London (yawn) and continued through the mostly Indian/Pakistani neighborhood (gotta remember that for future samosa cravings) and into the trendy artsy area of Old Street/Brick Lane East London. Tons of shops and places to grab a bite or drink, and clubs that I will definitely be coming back to check out. I restrained myself in the Dr. Marten's store and decided not to buy the totally sweet pair of grey suede boots that we ON SALE. I might be coming back for them since I keep thinking about how cute and affordable they were.

We stopped into the Golden Heart for a quick pint, rest our feet and get some insight on the clubs my friends and I should hit up later that night. Barney gave me a good sized list of recommendations and after we parted ways I did a little research of my own and picked "93 Feet East" for Friday night's festivities. There was no cover, which was music to our ears after our disappointing experience at Egg, had pretty good reviews, and the music list seemed dance-worthy.
We left our flat a little late, closer to 11 than we were aiming for and experienced the same tube detour that I had had with Barney earlier. Thankfully, my memory got us there with no problems and we headed into the warehouse club in no time. It was packed! I guess when the website says it starts at 7 it actually starts at 7. Next time we will not arrive so fashionably late to maximize our dance time. It could have been a great night but because we got there so late we only had over an hour to feel the place out.


(Room E at 93 Feet East)

The rest of the weekend has been pretty mellow. A few of us went down to Covent Garden/Oxford Circus to do a little shopping and have a quick bite in ChinaTown. I played stylist to my roommates and kept myself purchase-free. (Mom, aren't you proud). I spent the night with my roommate in the common room wrapped up in blankets fixated on the second season of Skins.

i wish i understood the london bus system...

i was all over the city on friday night. we went to Egg, a dance club we read about in our Pimp London Guide by the king's cross station. after paying a 8 pound cover and awkwardly trying to dance to fist-pumping techno music, i decided to leave with my two friends. we attempted to navigate our way home via the bus system but failed miserably. it took us over 3 hours to get back to south ken and by the time i finally did, i was miserable and exhausted.
(disclaimer: i was not drunk, just very confused)
i really dont like how the underground closes at midnight.

The V & A

my first class in london was a field trip through the snow to the Victoria and Albert Museum right in our neighborhood. as we walked around the open parts of the museum (there was apparently some water damage on the 4th floor), someone actually had to remind me that this was considered class and we were receiving credit...

after almost 10 hours of class today, we took another trip to sainsbury's and i made the only dish i know how to make for some of my flatmates and myself.

anthony brought seasons one and two of skins and we are all hooked. here is the trailer for the first season. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mH0O5AuYC30

my classes start tomorrow morning at 9am and i have my internship interview here: http://www.mama-la-mode.com/?gclid=CKCP1eO1n58CFUwA4wodU1z6Hw. (yes, that is an upscale maternity fashion line). i think i forgot we all weren't here just for vacation.

our first meal in london was of course, indian.

"this is not the real london"

i took a tylenol PM at the beginning of my flight and turned on "julie and julia" to ensure that i would fall asleep quickly and would wake up in england. well, my plan failed and was kept awake most of the entire flight due to turbulence and a strange intrest in the movie. the woman next to me (ALWAYS a middle aged woman) kept nodding off in my direction preventing me to find a comfortable spot to rest my head. but that's what is to be expected when you travel, i guess.
we landed in london at around 11 am and i got to my flat in south kensington pretty easily but when i got there, i found the 13 person flat to be empty. um..was i missing an important orientation or was everyone else just late? i quickly grabbed one of the four beds in my room, (2 twins and a bunk bed in room 14e) and started unpacking. one by one other temple students arrived and i found a group to explore the neighborhood with.
3 trips to sainsbury's for some essentials (frozen pizza, pasta, hummus and a few bottles of wine) later i realized that these kids are kind of great.
at our flat meeting, one of the FIE advisors told us that the neighborhood we live in is not the real london (way too ritzy and even has it's own set of laws) and told us that we really need to explore the entire city. to my delighted surprise, everyone in the flat was on the same page and wanted to get out and really get to see the "real" london.
tomorrow we have some more orientation things to get through and then plan on staying out all day and night to see more than just the average tourist spots.
a trip to paris next weekend is also in the works.
i think i'm really going to fall in love with it here.

this is nothing like the kensington i know.
in 32 hours i'm moving to the "royal borough of kensington and chelsea". these are the flats we get to live in. looks pretty nice, a lot better than anything at temple.

so, this is my blog for when i'm abroad. after 20 years living of in philadelphia, i'm finally leaving and it's about time. okay, back to trying to fit all my shit into the suitcase weight limit. i can't wait to be a kenzo, but i don't think i'll be hearing anyone say "youse" around here...